KOTA KINABALU: A fisherman has been sentenced to 35 years’ in jail and 12 strokes of the cane by the High Court here after he was found guilty of murdering his former wife four years ago.
High Court Judge Faridz Gohim Abdullah meted out the punishment on Melo Guli, 41, after the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt on Wednesday (Aug 14).
Melo was charged with killing Rina Ahmad, 36, who worked as a vegetable seller, in a room on the second floor of a building in the Segama Complex here at 2.30pm on Feb 11, 2020.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of up to 40 years and not less than 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
The prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Afiq Agoes while lawyer Goldam Hamid represented the accused.
A total of 14 witnesses were called by the prosecution during the trial which began on Oct 30 last year.
Melo claimed trial after the court found that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.
